Ten Buddhism Inspired Names - from Anicca to Zen

Photo courtesy of Beloved Photography

In recent months I have covered a couple of names with connections to Buddhism. The first - Avici (adapted to Avicii) - was adopted as a stage name for a young Swedish DJ whose star is currently on the rise. The second was Bodhi, a rising, relatively well-known option that was recently bestowed on two celebrity babies.

This got me thinking about names with Buddhist connections. In times when some are attracted to bold, energetic names like Dash and Blaze; or weaponry associated names like Colt and Cannon, it makes sense that others would be drawn to names with peaceful, spiritual meanings and connections.

Such names can create a great first impression. If balanced against feeling a little too “new agey” or “hippie” (sorry Dharma and Karma), they can set other people at ease, making their wearer seem friendly, relaxed and approachable. Less overt than traditional virtue names, they still hint at an attitude that the wearer can aspire to.

I need to preface this list by saying that I am not (and have never been) a Buddhist, so my knowledge of Buddhist terms that would make for great names is by no means exhaustive. However, I've chosen ten in particular that feel very usable - other than Bodhi and Avici. I'd love to hear further suggestions in the comments below.

Anicca

Anicca is a term meaning 'inconstancy' or 'impermanence', referring to the Buddhist teaching that all things are in a constant state of change – an inevitable cycle of birth, growth, decay and death. Pronounced uh-NIK-uh, visually and verbally Anicca doesn't seem very far removed from names such as Anita or Annika, which makes it feel quite usable, particularly for a girl.

Arya

Most people would recognise Arya as the name of the young rebellious tomboy daughter of the Stark family in 'Game of Thrones'. The show has certainly boosted its popularity as a girls name. But Arya actually has a history as a name used by both genders, and skewed male in the U.S until 2010. Arya (or Ariya) means 'noble' or 'exalted' in Sanskrit, and is frequently used in Buddhism to describe some of the main tenets – mainly the Four Noble Truths (catvary arya satyani) or The Noble Eightfold Path (arya marga).

Kathina

Kathina is a Buddhist festival that is held at the end of Vassa, the three month rainy season retreat for Theraveda Buddhists. It is a time of giving, for people to express their thanks to monks by bringing donations – particularly new robes - to the temples. It is rarely used as a name, but is seen as a girls name. It feels like an exotic blend of Katrina and Katherine and would make for a spiritual, celebratory name.

Lotus

The lotus is an important Buddhist icon, as Buddha is typically depicted sitting on a lotus. It is symbolic of the path from ignorance to enlightenment, as it rises from the mud of materialism, through the waters of experience, and into the sunshine of enlightenment. Pronounced LOH-tuhs, as a flower name it is definitely one of the more exotic and rarer choices. It is also a luxury sports car brand, which seems quite at odds with it's Buddhist symbolism. But that does little to detract from the elegant beauty of this name.

Mahayana

Lyrical sounding, it's pronounced mah-huh-YAH-nuh and is one of the main branches of Buddhism. It comes from the Sanskrit words maha meaning 'great' and yana meaning 'vehicle'. Mahayana is a more liberal type of Buddhism, and the most popular. Followers believe that anyone - not just monks and nuns - can attain enlightenment. It has never charted in the U.S as a name, but Mahayana would be a very pretty choice for a girl.

Nirvana

Nirvana literally means 'blown out', as in a candle, which when applied to a Buddhist context refers to “the imperturbable stillness of mind after the fires of desire, aversion and delusion have been finally extinguished”. Buddhists aim to reach this state of mind or consciousness to be free of individual desires or suffering. The name was chosen by Kurt Cobain for his rock/grunge band, who said that he wanted a beautiful, nice and pretty name. It seems namers agree with this impression, as Nirvana has only ever been bestowed on girls in the U.S. If Haven, Elysia or Nevaeh are on your list, this is another worthy option to consider.

Om

Perhaps due to it's short length, Om has to date been used as a boys name in the U.S. Om is sometimes referred to as the sacred syllable, used as a mantra when meditating. It means 'creation' in Sanskrit, and as a representation of the three most important deities in Hindu religions – Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma – it ultimately refers to the essence of life. It may be short, but it is loaded with meaning and has a relaxing sound.

Samsara

You may recognise Samsara as the title of a visually poetic 2011 Documentary. It means 'continuous movement' or 'cyclic existence', often translated as 'the circle of life'. By following the Buddhist path, one can liberate themselves from the endless cycling through the six realms, but one must first understand the nature of Samsara in order to be liberated from it. Samsara has a lovely, liquid velvet feel to it, pronounced suhm-SAHR-uh. It's rare use has so far been for girls, which may have been influenced by the fact that it is also the name of a perfume by Guerlain. Familiar nicknames Sam or Sara and it's similarity to Samara makes it easier to wear.

Veda

The Vedas are the most ancient and important of Hindu sacred literature, believed to be an eternal revelation of divine origin. Veda (pronounced VEY-duh or VEE-duh) means 'knowledge' or 'wisdom' – Theravada is the oldest surviving branch of Buddhism, meaning 'the Teaching of the Elders'. Veda has a long history of use as a girls name in the U.S, particularly popular at the beginning of the 20^th century accompanied by Vida and Vera. It has a vintage feel and spiritual quality.

Zen

Zen is synonymous with calmness and tranquillity. Many people most immediately associate it with Buddhism. Meaning 'absorption' or 'meditative state', Zen is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that advocates the use of sitting meditation for realising Buddhist truths such as no-self, emptiness, and the uncreated mind. Zen has been getting some small use in the U.S in recent decades and is so far proving to be more popular for boys than girls. This name has a fantastic energy – it feels unexpected, yet cool and stylish.

Bodhi

Photo Courtesy of Mali Workman

If you're a celebrity baby name spotter, you may have noticed that a particular name popped up twice in the past week - Bodhi. On February 12th Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green welcomed second son Bodhi Ransom to the world, while on 17th February Australian actress Theresa Palmer and husband Mark Webber welcomed son Bodhi Rain.

While some may label Bodhi as just another "bizarre name of celebrity offspring", Bodhi has actually become a fairly popular name among celebrities, taking it from a strange once-off name to an on-trend baby name on the upswing. Other than Bodhi Ransom and Bodhi Rain, Oliver Hudson has given his mum Goldie Hawn a grandson named Bodhi Hawn, and actress Amy Brenneman and husband director Brad Silberling have a Bodhi Russell. Celebrity chef Tom Colicchio also chose Bodhi as a middle name for son Luka Bodhi. And Australian celebrity couple Cameron Daddo and Allison Brae bestowed it on their daughter, Bodhi Faith.

Those who have discussed their choice of Bodhi have said that they chose it for it's spiritual meaning. Bodhi (pronounced BO-dee) is best known in the context of Buddhism. although it is also a concept in other Indian philosophies and traditions. Bodhi is the understanding possessed by Buddha regarding the nature of things. The legend is that Buddha achieved enlightenment (or Bodhi) while sitting under a large and very old sacred fig tree located in Bodh Gaya, India. This tree came to be known as the Bodhi tree, a name that is also used for any current trees that are a direct descendant of the original tree. They are planted in close proximity to every Buddhist monastery and a Bodhi tree is recognisable in religious art by its' heart shaped leaves.

The word itself comes from the Sanskrit roots of budh, meaning 'to awake, become aware, notice, know or understand' and bodha meaning 'knowledge or intelligence'. Translated to English Bodhi means "enlightenment" or "awakened".

Bodhi is an interesting name to consider. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the way it sounds, although nickname Bo is quite handsome, and I love the sentiment and symbolism behind this name. It feels like a rather zen name, and I've seen quite a few people say it makes them think of a laid back skater or surfer type dude. This impression may have been influenced by the surfer character named Bodhi played by Patrick Swayze in the 1991 movie 'Point Break', and maybe the appearance of a character called Bodhi in 'The Simpsons', who is a fourth grader interested in surfing.

One thing is for sure, there is plenty of love out there for Bodhi. Nameberry named it as the third fastest rising boy name on their site in 2013. That's for page views, not actual use, although the U.S SSA charts tells us those numbers are reflected in actual use. In 1992 - one year after 'Point Break' - Bodhi appeared on the charts for boys in position #4124. By 2010 it had entered the top 1000, and in 2012 it was positioned at #894. It will be interesting to see how much further it rose in 2013 when those figures are released in May. It's likely that the two recent celebrity births will push it even further in 2014, and may also lead to increased use for girls, which is currently quite rare.

Buddha under the Bodhi Tree

Tarabella

Name inspirations can come when you least expect it - and this beauty I spotted on a personalised number plate in traffic this morning! There are many things that raced through my mind when I saw this, with the uppermost one being that this is a very pretty name.

Tarabella is a quite rare name. It has never charted in America, meaning it has never been given to more than five girls in any one year. And a quick Facebook search shows that while Tarabella is not used as a first name, it has been used as a surname in Italy. However there is no information on its origin or meaning as a surname.

As a first name, Tarabella immediately strikes one as an unusual smoosh name - a combination of the spunky Tara and the sweetly girly Bella. Bella is popularly recognised to be an Italian name meaning 'beautiful'. In recent years it has followed the extremely popular Isabella up the charts, helped largely due to the (Isa)Bella Swan character from 'Twilight'. It's currently particularly popular in Australia, America and Canada, but deceptively is even more popular than the charts tell us, because it would commonly be sued as a popular nickname for many other Bella related names.

Tara on the other hand has a couple of different origins and meanings. In Hindu mythology Tara was an astral  goddess, and her name means 'star'. There is also a goddess named Tara in Buddhist mythology. Said to be the most popular goddess in the Buddhist pantheon, Tara is considered to be the Goddess of Universal Compassion, and she represents virtuous and enlightened activity.

But perhaps the best known origin of Tara is from Irish Gaelic, where Tara means 'hill' or more elaborately 'hill where kings meet'. Ancient Tara was the site of the 'stone of destiny', on which Irish kings lived. It has been theorised that this reference is what author Margaret Mitchell had in mind when she named the famous home of Scarlett O'Hara 'Tara' in her novel 'Gone With The Wind'.

Tara enjoyed a burst of popularity after 'Gone With The Wind' was released as a movie in 1939, first entering the American charts that year. During the 70's and 80's it was a top 100 name in America. It has dropped in popularity recently (#877 in America in 2011) although you could be forgiven for thinking otherwise judging by the popularity of Tara as a character name in TV shows ranging from 'True Blood' to 'Boston Legal' to 'The United States of Tara'.

Tara also does quite well in many other countries, such as Australia, Croatia, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Norway and Scotland. There are however some pronunciation variations - personally we pronounce it more like Tarr-aah here in Australia, while on American TV it seems to be pronounced Tah-RAH (or even Teh-RAH). Which I guess raises the question of how one would pronounce Tarabella. Would it be Tarr-aah-bell-ah or Tah-rah-bell-ah?

Pronunciation questions aside, I feel like Tarabella would be a great way to honour a Tara and/or Bella relative. Or to honour a combination of Italian/Indian/Irish heritage, or even a belief in Buddhism or Hinduism. And of course there are the two distinct and beautiful (excuse the pun) possible meanings - 'beautiful star' or 'beautiful hill'. 'Beautiful star' in particular is an almost swoon-worthy meaning.

I can definitely see Tarabella catching on. Maybe you're looking for an alternative to Isabella, but Arabella feels too frilly or vintage for you, or you're worried about it's current rising popularity. Tarabella could be a great way to stand out from the crowd.